


Take a Chance

by midnightbluefox



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Ben Solo, Ben Solo doesn't like spooky stuff, Caramel apples, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, No Smut, Rey does, Secret Crush, Soft Ben Solo, theme park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 16:36:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16580144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightbluefox/pseuds/midnightbluefox
Summary: Rey just wants to have a great time doing some scary rides with her crush, Ben Solo, but little does she know, he isn't quite as courageous as she thought. Luckily for him though, there's more than one way to prove your bravery.





	Take a Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wilson66](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wilson66/gifts).



> This fic was written as part of TWD fall fic exchange! 
> 
> Wilson, I'm sorry you didn't get the one that was originally supposed to be gifted to you but I hope you enjoy this one! I tried to include a bit of Hux/Rose cuteness for you since you listed them as a ship you like! And I hope you don't mind that I went with just fluff instead of smut <3

This night was not going anything like how Rey had expected.

When her friends, Rose and Hux, invited her to Horrorland, a haunted theme park in the next city over, she couldn’t say yes fast enough. Halloween was her favorite holiday and she loved every single thing about it; the cheesy decorations, the trick or treaters, pumpkin carving, and especially the thrill of being scared.

Rose and Hux had been dating for a few months and explained that they had invited his friend Ben, but didn’t want him to feel like an awkward third wheel. Though it stung that she was only invited as a last option, she was too excited to feel bitter about it. Excited to go and nervous that Ben was coming.

He had been an unwavering crush in Rey’s life for the last year. Part of her hated herself for it, because it was blatantly apparent that he was way out of her league and not remotely interested in her, but damn it, she couldn’t help it. Ben Solo was six foot two of pure sin, broad shouldered and dark haired, with hands that she had imagined on her bare skin more times than she wanted to admit. But the worst part, or really the most irresistible part, was that despite being so big, he was so adorable. He had this soft smile and expressive, coffee colored eyes, and a smattering of beauty marks that mapped out a constellation across his pale skin.

Yeah, she had it bad for him. And she had fully expected tonight to be a blend of torture and delightful frights.

Neither prediction had been correct.

Things had actually been going fairly well so far with Ben, chatting during the whole car ride over, laughing at the dorky decorations, but for some reason, Hux refused to go on any of the scary rides. They’d been here for over an hour and not done a single spooky thing. 

“Okay.” Rey stopped the group in front of a sign adorned with a grinning skull, flames coming out of the eye sockets. “Look, this is perfect. Walk through a basic haunted house, hardly any line, and no blood or gore warning so it can’t be too scary.”

Ben gave Hux an expectant look, which he returned with an annoyed one of his own then sighed dramatically, his ginger hair bright orange under the yellow light of the fake flames. 

“I don’t know,” he said, eyeing the sign. “I just really don’t want my heart rate going up. My doctor told me to be careful about that.”

Rey gave him a flat look. “You’re twenty eight, I think your heart is going to be just fine with a jump scare or two. And who comes to Horrorland when they don’t want to get their heart rate up?”

Strangely, Ben’s cheeks went pink at that.

“It’s never too early to watch your heart,” Hux sniffed. “And I’ll have you know, this date was Rose’s idea.”

Rose rolled her eyes playfully. “Thanks for throwing me under the bus, darling.” But she snuggled closer against his side, wrapping her arm around him.

A loud chorus of screams broke out from the haunted house in front of them. Rey felt like screaming herself from the frustration at being at an amazing amusement park with the guy she liked and not getting to go on a single scary ride so far.

“Maybe we can grab a snack and go over all the rides we’ve seen so far to decide which we want to do?” Rose offered, always the peacemaker.

Ben nodded slowly. “I could eat,” he rumbled in that deep voice of his. 

They started walking away and Rey could feel Ben’s eyes on her as she gazed longingly at the sign, hating every step that took her further away from the haunted house. 

He lingered until Rey caught up and she couldn’t help but think that they looked like a couple, walking side by side down the path. Her Halloween loving heart gave a painful squeeze at the potentially romantic setting, the spiderwebs and pumpkins, the purple lights and deep shadows between them, fog swirling around their feet.

“You okay?” he asked softly, hands tucked in his pockets. 

She shrugged, not wanting to whine. “Yeah, I was just hoping to go on some rides while we were here. I’m a bit of a thrill addict so I was ready to get scared.” Laughing at how crazy she sounded, she shrugged again. “It’s not a big deal, I’m just a bit disappointed and confused on why we came.”

“Are you having a bad time?”

His tone was strange so she tried to sneak a glance at his face but it was mostly obscured in shadows so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But he sounded almost… guilty. 

“No, no,” Rey rushed to assure him, trying to not sound too enthusiastic. “Not at all. Just ignore me please, I’m just being a baby because I wanted an excuse to scream.”

Ben chuckled, the sound making her whole body clench. “I’ve never really understood what the appeal of being scared out of your mind is.”

“Oh man, you’re missing out!” she exclaimed. “It’s just the thrill of the whole experience. Doing something that’s terrifying but you know that ultimately you’re safe… it’s this freeing rush of screaming and getting your adrenaline and heart rate up but knowing there’s an end. You can let yourself be afraid and that’s why you don’t have to really be. Choosing to go to a place like this… you can be in control of your fears for once.”

Realizing she was rambling, Rey clamped her mouth closed, her face getting hot. God, he probably thought she was such a weirdo. 

“I guess I’m missing out,” he finally said, and again, his voice was strange in a way she couldn’t quite identify.

Worried that she’d made him uncomfortable, she didn’t say anything the rest of the walk to the food vendor area, instead watching Rose and Hux holding hands and murmuring to each other on the path ahead. Why did they have to be such a perfect couple while she was making a fool of herself back here? 

She grabbed a table with Rose after the guys offered to wait in line and get their food. 

“Are you having a good time with Ben?” her friend asked knowingly. Rey had told her about her crush a few months ago and she was still waiting to see if she’d regret it. 

Rey sighed, pulling a loose string on the sleeve of her jacket. “You know I am. I was hoping I’d get an excuse to scream and cower against his chest, which I imagine would be life changing experience, but I can’t complain.”

Rose hummed in agreement. “I like my men a bit more slender but even I can’t deny, those broad shoulders have been driving me crazy. Did you see those poor buttons on his flannel? They’re holding on for dear life.”

“I can’t stop looking at them.” She groaned loudly. “Can you please tell Hux that I’ll never forgive him for depriving me of Ben’s chest today?”

Her friend gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sure your time will come.”

Rey looked over longingly at Ben in line, his height helping him stand out. As she watched, they grabbed their trays off food and made their way over to the condiments stand.

“I’m going to help grab ketchup and napkins,” she told Rose, standing from her seat and making her way over. 

She came up behind the guys, ready to offer her help, then heard her name and paused.

“-upsetting Rey,” Ben said, grabbing handfuls of napkins. “Just forget what I told you, let’s do something she wants. Ride, haunted house, I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?” Hux responded as he squeezed ketchup onto the tray. “You’re the one who begged me to look like an idiot all night. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t give me shit for the rest of my life over this.”

Raking a hand through his dark hair, Ben let out a frustrated noise. “I know and I’ll owe you one. Just please help me out, I want her to have a good time.”

They were nearly finished so Rey slipped away, going back to the table. Confusion swirled in her mind over what she had just heard. Had Ben asked Hux to insist they didn’t do anything scary all night? Why would he do that?

She sat down at the table robotically, feeling Rose giving her a weird look. “They didn’t need help,” she muttered, still trying to solve this puzzle. 

The guys came over, sitting down and handing out food. Everyone chatted as they ate but Rey could hardly focus on the conversation, watching Ben instead. Had he not wanted to go on rides with her because he was repulsed by the idea or something? The thought made her face red and she tried to hide it behind a bite of her burger. But he’d been so nice to her all day…

No. She couldn’t think that. Not when she had to spend the rest of the night with him, so she firmly shoved the thought out of her head. 

Maybe rides made him sick or he couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Those were both reasonable things. But why wouldn’t he just be honest about it? 

And the way he’d said her name and that he wanted to make sure she had a good time... She could feel her knees getting weak at the thought that Ben Solo might actually care about her. 

“So,” Hux said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “I was thinking that we should probably do a few rides after this. I think I’m feeling up for at least one or two.”

She could feel Ben’s eyes on her so she made herself smile widely. “I can’t wait.”

……

Half an hour later, they were all next in line to board The Elevator of Doom. You went in the room, buckled into the seats, and then it raised you to the top and dropped you down, one floor at a time. With each floor, the room would shake and the doors opened to a new scare. It was supposed to be one of the longest and scariest rides in all of Horrorland.

For the first time in her life, Rey was nervous to get on a ride. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect but she could tell that Ben was antsy. A muscle kept clenching in his jaw and his foot wouldn’t stop tapping. 

“You ready to get spooked?” she asked teasingly, hoping to dispel some of the tension between them.

He just nodded jerkily, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. 

There was nothing else to say because the doors opened and they were being ushered through into the dark room beyond. She led them to the back, waving to Rose and Hux who sat in the front, and picked two seats.

Even in the dim light, she could see that Ben’s hands were shaking as he buckled himself in. 

“Hey,” she said, catching his attention and giving him a grin. “We’re gonna have fun.”

He muttered something too quietly for her to make out then barked out a curse when the lights went out suddenly.

A loud laugh escaped her, giddiness racing through her veins. 

The ride started rising and Ben was just radiating anxiety next to her. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, to offer just a bit of comfort, but held herself back. 

The ride stopped and she swore, the whole room held its breath. Then they dropped.

Rey screamed with the room, a high pitched sound that cut off as they lurched to a halt. The doors opened to wails and shrieks, a parade of demons streaming in. They shook heads on sticks and stomped around, waving bones and guts.

She could hear herself laughing and screaming, blood thumping in her ears. Taking the opportunity as a horned devil popped up in front of her, she leaned over and grabbed Ben’s firm arm. Cowering against him slightly, and damn he smelled good, she looked at him, only to find his eyes firmly closed. 

Before she could say anything, the demons left and the doors closed, the elevator dropping again. 

It was the same thing on each floor but the theme was different every time. Skeletons, zombies, clowns… and on each floor, Ben kept his eyes squeezed shut and white knuckled grip on the strap holding him in.

The ride finally came to an end, the lights coming on as people laughed and started getting out of their seats. He didn’t move for a long second as Rey undid her own seat, not sure what she was supposed to do. 

“Let me get that for you,” she finally said, leaning over to get his buckle, keeping her voice carefully light. He was frightfully pale, chest heaving against the restraints. 

Hux and Rose came over, the excitement on their face turning to concern as they saw Ben. Rey shook her head sharply, not wanting to embarrass him. 

Plastering a smile on his face, Hux put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Hey big guy, let’s get outta here. That was pretty crazy, huh? I’m never getting on an elevator again.” He helped him stand, though he wouldn’t look at Rey as they made their way to the door. 

Damn, she felt terrible. She wasn’t sure if he was just scared or sick but he clearly had a terrible time and all because she’d complained about wanting to do some rides.

“I’m going to grab some water bottles, all that screaming dried out my mouth,” Rey tried to joke, gesturing to the stand down the path. Really, it just looked like Ben could use some cool water but she didn’t want to make him feel singled out.

She ran into Hux and Rose on the way back though.

“I think we’re going to go check out the zombie train ride,” Rose told her, taking one of the water bottles. “Ben probably needs to sit for a minute so text us in a bit and we can meet up.”

“Oh. Okay.” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that or how she felt without her friends as a buffer after what just happened. 

Hux huffed, looking a bit regretful. “Listen… Ben meant well. You should probably talk to him about all of this. I think he feels bad.”

He felt bad? She was the one who made him go on that dumb ride.

“What is going on?” she questioned, noting the guilty looks on their faces. Whatever was going on, they were both in on it. “I know he asked you to stop us from going on any rides, but why?”

Shaking his head, Hux actually took a step back. “Nope, I’m not touching this. Go talk to him and text us when you want to meet up.”

“No pressure though, if you guys get busy,” Rose added with a suggestive wink, before taking his hand and leading him away.

Gah. They were so frustrating. 

Ben was sitting on a bench by the exit of the ride, staring fixedly at the ground. He obviously noticed her sit next to him but didn’t say anything, not even when she handed him a cold water.

“So…” she started, fingers laced together tightly in her lap. “Do you want to talk about this?”

He groaned quietly, slumping down on the bench. “I mean, is there any chance we can just pretend that this didn’t happen so I can leave with my dignity?”

His tone was so distressed, she felt even worse about this situation.

“I don’t know, Ben,” she said helplessly. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable but I think I deserve to know what’s going on. I heard you talking to Hux about me earlier and I’m just really confused.”

He finally, finally, looked at her then, his eyes revealing his reluctance and embarrassment. But he sighed and nodded. “Fair enough. Just… just know that I wasn’t trying to ruin our time.”

“I never thought you were.”

Relief crossed his face as she said that and it seemed to give him the push he needed to start talking. 

“So Hux told me that he and Rose were planning on coming here and I knew that you loved Halloween so I asked him to invite us. I wanted a reason to go out with you and it seemed perfect.”

Rey thought that her jaw might have actually dropped with surprise. Ben Solo wanted to go out with her?

“The problem is,” he continued, obviously not noticing her shock, “I hate getting scared. I get claustrophobic in all the haunted houses, and I don’t like things jumping out at me or screaming in my face. So I asked Hux to act like he was the one who didn’t want to do anything because I didn’t want you to think that I was lame.”

Her mouth was suddenly bone dry and she knew that she needed to say something before he mistook her silence in a negative way but what was she supposed to say?

“I… why weren’t you just honest with me?”

Ben grimaced. “Rey, we’re friends and I didn’t want to make things weird. I mean…” he trailed off, biting his plush bottom lip.

“What?” she demanded, suddenly nervous.

He hesitated then muttered, “fuck it,” and let out a heavy breath. “I’ve been interested in you for a while now. This whole ridiculous and elaborate disaster is because I’ve been thinking about how much I wanted to go on a date with you for months but been too scared to ask you. Hux kept encouraging me but I’ve never really seen you show interest in any guys before or date anyone so-“

“I haven’t,” Rey blurted out, interrupting him. Her heart was racing, an unsteady beat pounding behind her ears. “Been interested in anyone, I mean. Because… I’ve just been interested in you.”

A tension filled silence fell between them as he gazed at her, surprise and something that looked like wonder, gleaming in his dark eyes. She felt herself blushing, heat spreading across her face and down her neck, but she didn’t look away.

His pale throat bobbed as he swallowed heavily. “Rey, I-“

A girl dressed as a creepy porcelain doll jumped out of the bushes with a screaming howl, teeth bared like a demon. 

Ben jumped with a filthy curse, his arm shooting out to shove Rey back into the bench protectively and away from the girl. It was honestly adorable that it was his immediate reaction.

She let out a breathy laugh, loving the feeling of his firm arm against her. How was this all happening right now?

“You just ruined a moment here,” Ben hissed at the girl, bright red spots on both cheekbones. 

Damn it, he was unbearably cute even when he was annoyed. 

She grabbed his arm to get his attention, though the doll girl just standing there and watching them was a little unnerving. “Let’s go get caramel apples,” she told him with a meaningful look at the walkway. 

He took the hint, hauling her to her feet gently, throwing one last dirty look at the girl before following Rey down the path. 

The silence was… strange. Not necessarily awkward, just charged with a nervous, happy sort of energy that was thrumming between them. They obviously needed to talk about this but for now, she just wanted to let his confession sink in. 

Ben kept glancing at her, his free hand tapping against his thigh in a frantic, anxious rhythm. Feeling bold, she sidestepped closer to him, taking his hand in hers. He was hot despite the chilly fall air, the rough brush of his palm against her own sending goosebumps down her body. 

As they made their way to the line in front of the caramel apple stand, hand in hand, Rey couldn’t help but feel bad for him and all the worrying he’d done tonight because of her.

“I never cared if you looked like some macho guy or whatever,” she told him sincerely. “Just because I have an unhealthy addiction to adrenaline doesn’t mean you have to.”

He met her eyes sheepishly, the tip of his nose pink from the cold. “I wasn’t trying to act like I did… I just didn’t want you to think that I wasn’t brave.”

The line moved forward and it was their turn to order. Ben got a caramel apple covered in chopped nuts and Rey got one with a chocolate drizzle over the top, since she was feeling triumphant and indulgent. It was victory treat, of sorts. And as they huddled under the streetlamp to the side of the stand, nibbling on their apples, Rey contemplated his words.

“You know,” she finally said softly, looking up at him with a small smile. “There are other ways to prove your bravery.”

He stared back at her, a little confused crinkle between his brows and a curious gleam in his warm, coffee colored eyes.

She tilted her face up a little more. “Like taking a chance, seizing the moment and doing something bold. Something-“

Understanding bloomed across his face as she spoke and immediately, without warning, he pulled her against him, his body hot even through their coats. She clutched at the stick of her apple, breath whooshing out of her in one excited rush.

When he dipped his head down to kiss her softly, cutting off her words, his lips were curled in a smile and he tasted like sugar and apples.


End file.
